COLD & FLU SEASON: HOW YOUR HOT TUB COULD HELP

It’s that time of year again, cold and flu season. This year we are getting hit hard with the flu, so you will want to take extra measures this season to stay healthy.

Did you know that regularly soaking in a hot tub could be a proactive and also a therapeutic solution to head colds and other sicknesses? Yes, hot tubs could help prevent you from getting sick, and speed up your recovery when you are sick. I’ll tell you why in this article.

Maybe you’ve heard the theory that people who work out often get sick less? Well, it turns out that there is some validity in this. Researchers from Appalachian State University in North Carolina tracked the lifestyle habits of 1,000 adults over a 12 week period. The results were astonishing – those who worked out for regularly for at least 20 minutes decreased their chances of getting sick by half!

“Activity is, by far, the most powerful lifestyle habit in terms of your ability to avoid getting sick,” said David Nieman, the study’s lead author. “Exercise is the one thing you can do that truly seems to boost immunity. In many ways, it’s more effective than hand washing and other hygiene habits. No matter how clean you are, coming into contact with viruses and bugs is unavoidable.”

“Each exercise session sparks a temporary rise in immune system cells circulating around the body,” he said. “So, although these levels fall back into the normal range within three hours or so, each bout enhances the surveillance of harmful viruses and bacteria. Repeated often enough, this reduces the number and severity of infections like the common cold.”

It may seem far fetched, but the reasons are simple:

– EXERCISES CAUSES A RAISE IN BODY TEMPERATURE – It has been found that even a small shift of a few degrees in body temperature makes a difference for preventing and fighting infections. Infectious agents can’t survive in environments where the body’s core temperature is elevated on a regular basis. In addition, Science Daily claims that elevated body temperature helps certain types of immune cells work better. On the flip side, too much strenuous exercise while sick could have the opposite effect on the immune system.

– EXERCISE MAKES YOU SWEAT: When you exercise, you sweat. Sweating releases waste products, lowering the amount of infectious agents in your body, and making you less prone to sickness.

If you want to decrease your chances of getting sick, or even help cure a sickness you already have; increase your body temperature on a consistent basis and make sure to sweat.

This is also how our body naturally fights a sickness. Our body reacts with a fever, raising the body temperature temporarily. Your internal environment becomes less inviting place for viruses and your immune system is boosted. A raise in temperature won’t eliminate the infectious agents, but it will make them less effective.

We can apply these same principles to your hot tub. A hot tub can induce a “fake fever”. Your core body temperature is 98.6 degrees, and a maximum hot tub temperature is 104 degrees.

By soaking in a heated hot tub, your body temperature will be raised. This will cause your core body temperature to shift, and also cause you to sweat. Raising your body temperature + sweating = the magic formula.

In addition, regular hot tub use will help you get a better nights rest and assist you in relaxation, all important aspects to keeping sickness away and curing it once it arrives.

Hot Tub Tips:

Make sure your hot tub is clean, of course! If you have questions on how to maintain your Thermospas hot tub, call our Customer Care department at #1-800-876-0158

Stay hydrated. This is very important!

Use aromatherapy like eucalyptus to enhance the relaxing and therapeutic effects of the hot tub

Are you someone that has used this technique before, or would like to test it out? Let us know in the comments below: